ACEI seeks input on issues related to the experience of childhood from a variety of stakeholders—education practitioners and researchers, health professionals, environmentalists, psychologists, sociologists, social workers, and advocates. We welcome presentation proposals on practice, policy, and research from around the world and from a variety of sectors, including universities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), research institutes, and associations.

Provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue about the experience of childhood.

Explore the current state of childhood, including issues affecting education and children's mental and physical well-being, from international, cross-cultural, and cross-disciplinary perspectives.

Examine specific issues impacting the lives of children today.

Consider best policies and practices to promote the opportunities that support a positive childhood experience and to address the challenges that threaten childhood.

ACEI NEWS AND INFORMATION

Last Chance To Sign Up for Cuba Exchange ProgramACEI is offering an opportunity for educators to travel to Cuba to exchange information with Cuban educators and to research the Cuban model of education. Travel to Cuba is most easily facilitated through a group travel experience. Visits to schools, education associations and discussion with university faculty will be part of the program.

The program is being offered in coordination with Professionals Abroad, an initiative of Academic Travel Abroad, Inc. Academic Travel Abroad (ATA) is a premiere travel company specializing in unique educational experiences. The Professionals Abroad initiative of ATA works with many established associations and organizations to offer professionally designed educational programs. This promises to be an exciting event in which education professionals will be able to interact with Cuban educators and university faculty to learn about the education of children in Cuba, and have time to experience Cuba, as well.

Call for Members – ACEI Special Interest ForumWe currently have a member who is interested in starting a forum on children with special needs. If you would like to join this forum, please contact Sheri Levin, ACEI's Member Relations Manager, at
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. She will connect you with the person interested in being the forum leader.

We hope you will consider starting your own forum on an education or childhood topic of interest. Please contact Sheri Levin if you would like to learn more about ACEI Interest Forum opportunities and guidelines for formation.

2012 Executive Board Election Deadline – September 30, 2011This year, there are three positions available – President Elect, Member-at-Large, and the Emerging Educators' Representative.

Please click here to review the description of open positions, read about the necessary qualifications for Board members, and to access a nomination form. Click here to read Board descriptions and access application forms. Board membership is not just for long-time members. New members with broad experience, strong global interests, and other suitable qualifications can make excellent candidates for the Board. Nominations can be made through other members or through self-nominations. All nomination submissions are due to the ACEI Headquarters Office by close of business on Friday, September 30th, 2011.

The Decade for Childhood – 2012-2022The understanding of child development grew tremendously during the 20th century. Today, however, we feel a growing unease about the state of childhood. Too often, nations have been unable to translate new knowledge into actions that promote children's health and well-being. Rapid cultural and technological changes combine with age-old problems of poverty, neglect, and abuse to thwart the healthy development of huge numbers of children. Current conditions pose a threat to childhood, and the need to address them is urgent.

Diane Whitehead, ACEI Executive Director, and Joan Almon, Executive Director of the U.S. Alliance for Childhood, are the initiators of the project.

Read more about the Decade for Childhood here, and join us in this urgent endeavor.

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NEWS AND INFORMATION - U.S.

Getting Back to Basics for Our ChildrenThe Children's Budget 2011 by First Focus, and Kids' Share 2011 by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, indicate that although there has been a temporary increase in federal funding, the long-term trend is alarming. American citizens worry that their children will not have the same opportunities that they had for a fulfilling and prosperous future. Read a blogpost that ran in the Huffington Post, written by Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus, here. First Focus is a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions.

Is Standardized Testing of Young Children Meaningful?David Berliner, regents' professor emeritus at Arizona State University and a prominent researcher and educational psychologist, points out that some states are seeking funds from the Race To The Top (he calls it "Race to the Trough") early learning 2011 education budget. States can receive funding if they design, develop, and administer pre-kindergarten assessments and kindergarten readiness tests. "Common sense and research both suggest that this is really dumb!," Berliner says. Read his blog to understand his reasons for opposing this method of testing.

NEWS AND INFORMATION - INTERNATIONAL

Increasing the Impact of Corporate Engagement in EducationIncreasing the Impact of Corporate Engagement in Education: Landscape and Challenges, written by Justin W. van Fleet, Post-Doctorate Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Universal Education, points out that the current state of education globally is in crisis. Sixty-seven million children do not attend school, and hundreds of millions who do attend school are not learning. The paper discusses the disconnect between private corporations and the government sector, but suggests ways to bring them together to form partnerships that will benefit education.

NEWS AND INFORMATION - AFRICA

Drought Crisis in the Horn of AfricaAcross Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, an estimated 2.3 million children are already acutely malnourished. These are already among the world's most disadvantaged children, living on the brink and becoming more vulnerable by the day – deprived of virtually every human need, and every fundamental right. Read the press release from UNICEF here.

United Nations Resolution to Protect Schools and HospitalsResolution 1998 ensures that attacks on schools and hospitals will be listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on children and armed conflict. The Security Council says it will also impose targeted measures on those who violate children's rights through such attacks. Read more about the resolution here.

RESOURCES -- Recent Articles and Reports of Interest

Letting Children Be ChildrenThis report, commissioned by the UK's Conservative government, was prepared by Reg Bailey, the chief executive of Mother's Union, a Christian charity. It addresses the commercialization and sexualization of childhood. The report makes recommendations regarding the regulation of advertising, media vehicles, and music videos. Download the report here and read a related article from the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Nation's Report Card: Geography 2010Nationally representative samples of about 7,000 fourth-graders, 9,500 eighth-graders, and 10,000 twelfth-graders participated in the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography. At each grade, students responded to questions designed to measure their knowledge of geography in the context of space and place, environment and society, and spatial dynamics and connections. Comparing the results from the 2010 assessment to the results from previous assessments in 1994 and 2001 shows how students' knowledge and skills in geography have changed over time. Read about the report here.

Kid's Share 2011This report is the fifth annual examination of the federal spending trends and tax policies that support and affect children and families. This year's report finds spending on children rose temporarily during the recession, but is projected to fall back to less than 8 percent of the federal budget by the end of the next decade. The report was commissioned by First Focus and produced by the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Read more and download the report here.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Breaking Schools' Rules: A Study of Discipline and Juvenile JusticeBreaking Schools' Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates To Students' Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement, released by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute of Texas A&M University, reveals some troubling links between suspensions, expulsions, and juvenile crime.

The CSG Justice Center plans to convene a group of leading experts to discuss recommendations for policy makers and practitioners. To learn more about the study and read the full report, go to the CSG Justice Center website.

SPOTLIGHT ON ADVOCACY

Make It Right: Ending the Crisis in Girls' EducationDespite overall increases in global and national aggregate enrollments and gender parity, girls still face formidable challenges in effectively completing primary education and continuing through the school cycle successfully. Download the report here.

International Literacy Day, September 8, 2011The theme for International Literacy Day 2011 is "Literacy and Peace."

Worldwide, 67.4 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. Read more here.

AWARDS AND GRANTS – U.S.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) ScholarshipEligibility: individual classroom teachers or small groups of teachers currently teaching mathematics in grades PreK-5, who are full Individual or e-members of NCTM, or teach in a school with a current NCTM PreK-8 school membership. Maximum award: $2,000. Deadline: November 11, 2011. For more information, go to their webpage.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Educational Research in an Age of AusterityHosted by the Scottish Educational Research AssociationNovember 24 – 25, 2011Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, U.K.Visit the SERA website

Building a Child-Friendly Europe: Turning the Puzzle Into a PictureConference on the Council for Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child 2012-2015November 20-21, 2011MonacoVisit the conference website

FEATURED IN CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Jane Bean-Folkes, a professional developer working with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Program, Teachers College, Columbia University, discusses her difficulties in expressing herself in writing. This article addresses her efforts to draw attention to the importance of students of color mastering academic language. Read The "Why" Behind Teacher Research, from the Annual Theme 2011 Issue of Childhood Education, Vol. 87, No. 5